March 29, 2013
| Zan Azlee is a documentary filmmaker, journalist, writer, New Media practitioner and lecturer. He runs Fat Bidin Media www.fatbidin.com |
MARCH 29 ― I have a friend by the name of Marcus Lim. He is my colleague at Astro AWANI.
Marcus is a devout Catholic and we have interesting conversations about our faiths whenever we feel too lazy to do some actual work in the office.
The day that the new pope was decided on, I came into the office and as soon as I saw Marcus, I yelled out, "Habemus Papam!" (We have a pope!)
I doubt that Marcus actually knows Latin, but he replied:
Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum:
Habemus Papam;
Eminentissimum ac reverendissimum Dominum,
Dominum Jorge Mario Sanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ Cardinalem Bergoglio,
Qui sibi nomen imposuit Franciscum.
(I announce to you a great joy:
We have a Pope!
The most eminent and reverend lord
Lord Jorge Mario Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church Bergoglio,
Who takes the name of Francis.)
Okay. I kid! He only managed to utter the first sentence before he started uttering gibberish since he doesn't actually speak Latin.
But he was excited that he had a new pope. I was excited he had a new pope, and especially so because the new guy has a reputation for promoting and building interfaith relationships.
Lo and behold, as soon Pope Francis took on his role officially, he made the statement that I, as a Muslim, see as an extension of the hand offering a shake.
As reported by Time, during a meeting with leaders of different faiths which included Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists, Pope Francis pledged to promote "friendship and respect between men and women of different religious traditions."
This is a breath of fresh air after the last pope, Benedict, made extremely insensitive statements about Islam throughout his eight-year tenure.
Pope Benedict had suggested that coerced conversion is what Islam is all about. He has even been quoted as saying, "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman."
During a an interview with the press right after his installation, Pope Francis was quick to remark that "Pope Benedict's statements do not reflect my own opinions."
As the Archbishop of Buenos Aires before his installation as pope, Bergoglio organised, promoted and encouraged numerous dialogues and mass prayers with leaders of different faiths.
He was quoted as saying, then: "It is not possible to establish true links with God while ignoring other people. I am thinking particularly of dialogue with Islam."
I do understand that Pope Francis has only just begun his duties. And most newly-elected leaders are very good at highlighting their plans. Executing them is another matter.
But in any type of understanding and dialogue, trust has to play a very important role. And anyway, we should not have any presumptions or judge. That is not the Islamic way.
Muslims in particular have to do away with the feeling that all the Christians out there have the intention of converting them (and maybe even vice versa!).
In this day and age, we should look at promoting multiculturalism and peaceful religious plurality, instead of distrust and hostility.
As far as I am concerned, I am a big supporter of open-mindedness and discourse. So anyone else who is open to it as well is welcome to the table.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist
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